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What is Obesity?
Obesity means having too much body fat. A
child is obese if their weight is more than 20% higher than the ideal
weight for a boy or girl of their age and height. Research proves
that overweight
kids are at greater risk of becoming obese adults.
How Severe Is the Problem?
The
percentage of overweight children in the United States is growing at an
alarming rate because kids are spending less time exercising and more
time in front of the TV and computer. In addition, kid's
schedules are so busy that families have less time to prepare
nutritious, home-cooked meals.
Compliments of cdc.gov
What Are The Risk's Of Being
Obese?
Being
obese increases a child's risk for some serious childhood medical
problems such as:
-
Pre-diabetes
and diabetes
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Heart disease,
high blood pressure (hypertension)
-
Hyperlipidemia
(too much fat in the blood, which can clog the arteries), high
cholesterol
-
Sleep apnea
and breathing problems
-
Bone conditions, such as hip
problems
-
Gastro-intestinal diseases
-
Early puberty
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Psychological problems, like poor
self-esteem and depression
How Can I Prevent It?
Preventing your children from becoming overweight means adapting the way
you and your family eat and exercise. It is important that you set a
good example for you children and help them to lead a healthy lifestyle.
 Eat
Healthy
Teach your children how to make good food choices. Get them to help you
plan and prepare healthy meals, and take them to the grocery store to
shop for the proper foods.
Try to include 5 servings
of fruits and
vegetables a day in their diet. Plan healthy snacks, and remove high
calorie, high-fat foods from your home. These types of foods should be
bought on occasion for a special treat. Encourage kids to eat
breakfast every day.
Be sure to
eat meals together as
often as possible.
Exercise Daily
To maintain a
healthy-weight environment exercise and physical activity must be part
of your daily routine. Encourage the kids to be active. Get
them to play outside, kick a soccer ball, ride bikes, roller
blade, jump
rope or play a basketball game with
friends. Have them pick a sport and enroll them on a team and then
support their efforts. Create family outings that involve physical
activity, such as taking the dog for a walk, going to the park, go ice
skating, washing the car, or taking a hike. In order to be active
you must reduce their time on the TV, computer, and video games. I
am sure you will be met with complaints but once
they see that their time is filled with fun activities the complaints
will fade away.
Other ways to help
create a healthy weight environment in your home:
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 Avoid
empty calories, choose diet drinks, flavored water, low fat milk,
or water with a slice of lemon or lime
-
Cut back on
eating in restaurants
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Select more
whole-grain breads and cereals
-
Remove
TVs and computers from children's bedrooms.
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Use healthier
cooking methods such as broiling, grilling, roasting, and steaming
rather than frying foods.
In
Conclusion...
Remember that
children form habits from parents, you are their role model.
So let your kids see you reach for a piece of fruit instead of a cookie
and head out to take walk everyday. You may just find that they
are likely to do the same thing without you even asking.
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